I've been calling for Gabby and Richards since the beginning of the season. Glad it's finally happened and glad it's paying dividends.

__________________

"Of course giving Sather cap space is like giving teenagers whiskey and car keys." - SBOB"Watching Sather build a team is like watching a blind man with no fingers trying to put together an elaborate puzzle." - Shadowtron
I still think there should be a section of people at MSG behind the visiting bench, in curly wigs, and dark rimmed glasses, calling themselves the Pidtophiles. - Zamboner

Except it didn't seem they had chemistry together. Now with Hagelin, it seems like he is the glue to the other two.

Hagelin is playing the role on that line that Dubinsky should've been playing from the beginning of the year. Englom or Strader said it best. Gaborik around the goal line and near the net, Richards at the faceoff dot, Hagelin behind the net doing the grunt work. It should've been Dubinsky, but he lost that chance.

Hagelin is playing the role on that line that Dubinsky should've been playing from the beginning of the year. Englom or Strader said it best. Gaborik around the goal line and near the net, Richards at the faceoff dot, Hagelin behind the net doing the grunt work. It should've been Dubinsky, but he lost that chance.

And, I believe you could put any one of Anisimov, Dubinsky or Callahan with those two, and the line would still put up points. Gaborik and Richards are both premier offensive players, and they should have been playing on the same line all year.

Will be interesting to see how Stepan and Callahan do on the same line going forward.

So why even bother watching? If you think a championship is determined on paper, why even bother watching to see what happens?

This team has been the best in the East, only two pts back on the NHL lead with a game at hand and that's not enough for you, supposedly a fan of the team, to start to believe? With fans like that who needs opposing fans?

I've been calling for Gabby and Richards since the beginning of the season. Glad it's finally happened and glad it's paying dividends.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneone

Except it didn't seem they had chemistry together. Now with Hagelin, it seems like he is the glue to the other two.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan.

...except they were never given a chance to find chemistry. Spot minutes on the powerplay will not do that. They needed to practice on the same line. Play on the same line.

I have been with Jon on this one since early on. And the thing is, the game and a half that Stepan Richards Gaborik was a line, they DID show flashes of brilliance. Tortorella goes overboard sometimes and if he doesnt like one little thing, he won't go back to it. For example, one bad shift sometimes leads to a full game benching, and while sometimes its the right move (like when Dubinsky took the throwing the stick penalty), sometimes players just make mistakes and can still be of use to the team later in the game, but Tortorella's anger often gets the better of him. It's a double-edged sword. Now you can point to the fact that he's coached this team to the best record in the East all season, but he's not without flaws, and REFUSING to even try Richards with Gaborik when we couldn't buy a goal was a mistake.

Hagelin is a big part of the lines success tonight, but Gaborik and Richards have shown flashes of greatness without him in the few times they've played together at even strength also. Some quick give and go's, Gaborik jumping into holes and Richards getting the puck there, etc. I liked Stepan on that line very much. It's hard to argue with Hagelin's impact on their success tonight, but if this line gets shut down by the Pens, I hope Tortorella doesn't break it up. Richards has shown chemistry with Hagelin, Callahan, and now Gaborik.

Wouldn't it be great if Stepan and Dubinsky could find some chemistry?

And reuniting the pack line is also an option, but Anisimov just always seems half a second too late, whether it's shooting, passing, or trying to receive a pass.

Also wonder where the guy who claimed "Hagelin is playing good but he's really nothing more than a good 3rd liner" is.